A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) [1] [2] [3] is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) of Arezzo were the first to be crowned poets laureate after the classical age, respectively in 1315 and 1342. [4] In Britain, the term dates from the appointment of Bernard André by Henry VII of England. The royal office of Poet Laureate in England dates from the appointment of John Dryden in 1668.
In modern times a poet laureate title may be conferred by an organization such as the Poetry Foundation, which designates a Young People's Poet Laureate, unconnected with the National Youth Poet Laureate and the United States Poet Laureate. [5]
The office is also popular with regional and community groups. Examples include the Pikes Peak Poet Laureate, [6] which is designated by a "Presenting Partners" group from within the community, the Minnesota poet laureate chosen by the League of Minnesota Poets (est. 1934), [7] the Northampton Poet Laureate [8] chosen by the Northampton Arts Council, [9] and the Martha's Vineyard Poet Laureate chosen by ten judges representing the Martha's Vineyard Poetry Society.
Over a dozen national governments continue the poet laureate tradition.
In ancient Greece, the laurel was used to form a crown or wreath of honour for poets and heroes. The custom derives from the ancient myth of Daphne and Apollo (Daphne signifying "laurel" in Greek), and was revived in Padua for Albertino Mussato, [10] followed by Petrarch's own crowning ceremony in the audience hall of the medieval senatorial palazzo on the Campidoglio on April 8, 1341. [11] Because the Renaissance figures who were attempting to revive the Classical tradition lacked detailed knowledge of the Roman precedent they were attempting to emulate, these ceremonies took on the character of doctoral candidatures. [12]
Since the office of poet laureate has become widely adopted, the term "laureate" has come to signify recognition for preeminence or superlative achievement (cf. Nobel laureate). A royal degree in rhetoric, poet laureate was awarded at European universities in the Middle Ages. The term therefore may refer to the holder of such a degree, which recognized skill in rhetoric, grammar, and language.
During the 10–11th century, Unsuri was made poet laureate by Sultan Maḥmūd of Ghazna. [13] Modern Poets Laureate of Afghanistan include Abdullah "Malik al-Shu'Ara" Qari, Sufi Abdul Bitab, and Ustad Khalilullah Khalili. [14] [15]
In 2021, Rudolf Marku became the first Poet Laureate of Albania. [16] He was followed by Luljeta Lleshanaku. [17]
Poets Laureate of Argentina include Olegario Victor Andrade. [18]
Poets Laureate of Armenia include Avetik Isahakian and Hovhannes Toumanian (1970). [19] [20]
Poets Laureate of Austria include Franz Grillparzer, Kurt Wildgans and Franz Werfel. [21] [22] [23] For cities, Paulus Melissus was made Poet Laureate of Vienna in 1561. [24]
On 30 January 2023, at the launch of 'Revive', Australia's new cultural policy, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced “the establishment of a poet laureate for Australia”. [25] Before 2023, Australia had not had an official poet laureate scheme, despite past suggestions. [26] [27] In 1818, former convict Michael Massey Robinson was paid by colony governor Lachlan Macquarie for services as poet laureate. [28] Over the years, other poets have been nominated as worthy of such a title, including James Brunton Stephens (1835–1902), [29] Andrew Barton 'Banjo' Paterson (1864–1941), [30] and Les Murray (1938–2019). [31]
Poets Laureate of Azerbaijan include Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh. [32] [33]
Poets Laureate of The Bahamas include Henry Christopher Christie. [34]
During the 15th century, Zainuddin was appointed the court poet of Bengal while under the patronage of Prince Yusuf Khan. [35] [36]
The first Poet Laureate of Barbados was chosen in 2018. Her name is Esther Phillips. [37] [38]
Poet Laureates of Belarus include Maksim Tank and Pimen Panchenko. [39] [40]
The first Poet Laureate of Belgium, Charles Ducal, was chosen in 2014. [41] [42] He was followed by Laurence Vielle, [41] Els Moors, [41] Carl Norac, [43] and Mustafa Kör. [43]
Poets Laureate of Bolivia include Javier del Granado. [44]
Poets Laureate of Brazil include Guilherme de Almeida. [45] [46]
Poets Laureate of Bulgaria include Venko Markovski. [47] [48]
Poets Laureate of Cambodia include Ind (1907–1924). [49] [50]
The Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate is appointed as an officer of the Library of Parliament. The position alternates between an English and French speaking laureate. Candidates must be able to write in both English and French, have a substantial publication history (including poetry) displaying literary excellence and have written work reflecting Canada, among other criteria. [51]
Poets who have served in the position include:
Currently, only the provinces of Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan and Yukon have appointed a poet laureate.
Prince Edward Island appointed its first poet laureate, John Smith, in 2003. [97] [98] [99]
Saskatchewan appointed its first poet laureate, Glen Sorestad, in 2000. [100]
Inaugural Yukon Provincial Poet Laureate PJ Yukon has held the office since 1994. [101] [100]
The Commissioner of Yukon established the Story Laureate of Yukon role in 2020. [102] The inaugural position was held by Michael Gates.
Poets Laureate of Cape Verde include Eugénio Tavares. [103]
In Ancient China, Emperor Yuan of Han appointed Shi You as the poet laureate. [104]
Poets Laureate of Colombia include Antonio José Restrepo. [105] [106]
Poets Laureate of Costa Rica include Laureano Albán. [107]
Poets Laureate of Croatia include Vladimir Nazor. [108]
National poets are mainly celebrated in Cuba, but there are poets laureate in the country's history. In 1860, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda was made the Poet Laureate of Havana. [109] Nicolás Guillén, who is mainly considered a national poet, became the Poet Laureate of Havana in 1913. [110] [111]
During the 19th century, after the Turks invaded Cyprus, Mufti Hilmi Efendi was appointed the poet laureate of Sultan Mahmud II. [112] In 1980, the World Academy of Arts and Culture awarded Cyprus-born Costas Montis the title of Poet Laureate. [113]
In 1596, Bartholomaeus Bilovius was made Poet Laureate of Prague due in part to his royal connections. [114] Johann Christian Alois Mickl was crowned the Poet Laureate of Prague around 1730. [115]
Poets Laureate of Denmark include Christian Winther. [116]
Poets Laureate of Dominican Republic include Pedro Mir (1984).
Poets Laureate of Ecuador include Remigio Crespo Toral (1917) and José María Egas (1976). [117] [118]
Ahmed Shawqi became Egypt's Poet Laureate in 1894. [119]
Poets Laureate of Estonia include Jaan Kaplinski. [121]
In Ethiopia, the officially designated Laureate includes Tsegaye Gebre-Medhin. Tsegaye's award was granted in 1966 by His Majesty, Haile-Selasie II. [122]
Poets Laureate of Finland include Zachris Topelius. [123]
Poets Laureate of France include Publio Fausto Andrelini (1496), Giambattista Marino (1615–1623), Charles Dumas (1903), André Corthis (1906) and Paul Fort (1921). [124] [125] [126] [127] [128]
Poets Laureate of The Gambia include Lenrie Peters. [129]
Heraclius II of Georgia appointed Sayat-Nova as his poet laureate at the court of Tblisi. [130]
The first known Poet Laureate of the German Empire is Conradus Celtes Protuccius (c. 1466). He was succeeded by Johannes Paulus Crusius (1616), Apostolo Zeno, and Pietro Metastasio (1729) among others. [131]
Poets Laureate of Nazi Germany include Hanns Johst from 1935 to 1946.
Rajvinder Singh was declared the Stadtschreiber of three different cities in Germany: Rheinsberg in 1999, [132] Remscheid in 2004, [132] and Trier in 2007. [132] [133] [134] [135] [136] [137]
Poets Laureate of Ghana include Atukwei Okai. [138] [139]
Greece's modern Poet Laureates include Spyros Matsoukas (c. 1909). [140] [141]
Poets Laureate of Guatemala include Osmundo Arriola and Máximo Soto Hall. [142] [143]
Poets Laureate of Haiti include Jean-Fernand Brierre. [144] [145]
Popes have several times named poets laureate, but the practice has been irregular.
In 1846, José Trinidad Reyes was appointed the Poet Laureate of Honduras. [146]
Poets Laureate of Hungary include János Arany and Zsófia Balla (2018). [147] [148]
Poets Laureate of Iceland include Einar Benediktsson and Stephan G. Stephansson. [149] [150]
In India, poet laureates were maintained at the royal courts beginning in ancient times. [151] For instance, in Ancient India, Harisena was designated poet laureate by Emperor Samudragupta. [152] During the 7th century, Emperor Harsha proclaimed Bāṇabhaṭṭa as the poet laureate. [153] Jayamkondar was made poet laureate by Chola Emperor Kulottunga I. [154] During the Mughal Empire, Emperor Akbar made Birbal the poet laureate. [155] In the aforementioned empire's later history, Taleb Amoli was Emperor Jahangir's poet laureate from 1618–1627, [156] and Emperor Shah Jahan appointed Jagannatha Panditaraja as the poet laureate during his reign. [157] Mohammad Ibrahim Zauq was the poet laureate of the final Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. [158]
Saanvi Sharma was the first poet laureate of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Vallathol Narayana Menon was the Poet Laureate of Kerala. [159] [160]
Kannadasan was the poet laureate of Tamil Nadu at the time of his death.
In the 14th century, Mpu Prapanca served as the poet laureate in the royal court of Emperor Hayam Wuruk. [161] [162] [163] During the 18th century, Yasadipura I served as the Poet Laureate of Surakarta Sunanate. [164]
In Iran, Saba (Fath-Ali Khan Kashani) was the poet laureate of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. [165] In the 17th century, during his travels to India, the Persian poet Kalim Kashani was made poet laureate by Mogul emperor Shah Jahan in 1632. [166] Malek o-Sho'arā Bahār was the poet laureate of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar. He was born in Mashhad in 1884 (died 1951) and was a conservative figure among the modernists. Mohammad-Taqi Bahar was appointed Poet Laureate by royal decree in 1903. [167]
Poets Laureate of Iraq include Muhammed Mahdi al-Jawahiri. [168]
The Kingdom of Ireland had a poet laureate; the last holder of the title was Robert Jephson, who died in 1803. [169]
The closest modern equivalent in the Republic of Ireland is the title Saoi ["wise one"] held by up to seven members at a time of Aosdána, an official body of those engaged in fine arts, literature, and music. Poets awarded the title include Máire Mhac an tSaoi, Anthony Cronin, and Seamus Heaney.
Poets Laureate of Israel include Avigdor Hameiri and Haim Gouri. [170] [171]
Poets Laureate of Italy include Petrarch (1341), Camillo Querno (1514), Torquato Tasso (1595), Giovanni Prati (1849). [131] [172]
Thomas MacDermot was the first poet laureate of Jamaica during colonial times, followed by Je Clare McFarlane. [173] Mervyn Morris was the first poet laureate of Jamaica upon its independence (2014–2017), followed by Lorna Goodison (2017–2020) [173] and Olive Senior (2021–2024). [174] The current poet laureate is Kwame Dawes (2024–2027). [175]
Poets Laureate of Japan include Baron Takasaki Masamitsu. [176] [177]
Poets Laureate of Kazakhstan include Abdilda Tazhibaev. [178] [179]
Poets Laureate of Kyrgyzstan include Chinghiz Aitmatov. [181]
Jānis Sudrabkalns was the Poet Laureate of Latvian SSR. [183] [184]
Poets Laureate of Lesotho include Joshua Pulumo Mohapeloa. [185]
Poets Laureate for the Republic of Liberia have included Roland T. Dempster, Melvin B. Tolson (1947), and Patricia Jabbeh Wesley. [186] [187] [188]
Poets Laureate of Lithuania include Bernardas Brazdzionis and Kornelijus Platelis. [189] [190]
In 1555, Luxembourg-born Nicolaus Mameranus was crowned poet laureate by Charles V. [191]
Poets Laureate of Malaysia include Muhammad Haji Salleh. [192]
Poets Laureate of Mali include Ban Sumana Sisòkò. [193] [194]
In 2023, Maria Grech Ganado became the inaugural Poet Laureate of Malta. [195]
Poets Laureate of Martinique include Daniel Thaly. [196] [197]
Poets Laureate of Mexico include Guillermo Prieto (1890), Juan de Dios Peza, and Rafael de Zayas Enriquez. [198] [199] [200] [201] [202]
Poets Laureate of Montenegro include Tomo Joshov Vulkichevich. [204]
During the 16th-17th centuries in Morocco's history, Abd al-Aziz al-Fishtali was appointed as the poet laureate of the Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur. [205]
Poets Laureate of Nepal include Lekhnath Paudyal. [207] [208]
The unofficial Poet Laureate of Netherlands is Tsead Bruinja as Dichter des Vaderlands (Poet of the Fatherland). The previous laureate was Ester Naomi Perquin. Gerrit Komrij was the first Dichter des Vaderlands. The title was created by Dutch media.[ citation needed ]
New Zealand has had an official poet laureate since 1998. Originally sponsored by Te Mata vineyards and known as the Te Mata Estate Poet Laureate, the award is now administered by the National Library of New Zealand and the holder is called New Zealand Poet Laureate. The term of office is two years. The symbol of office is a Tokotoko, a carved wooden ceremonial orator's staff.
The first holder was Bill Manhire, in 1998–99, then Hone Tuwhare (2000–01), Elizabeth Smither (2002–03), Brian Turner (2004–05), Jenny Bornholdt (2006–07), Michele Leggott (2008–09), Cilla McQueen (2009–11), Ian Wedde (2011–13), Vincent O'Sullivan (2013–15), C. K. Stead (2015–2017), Selina Tusitala Marsh (2017-2019), David Eggleton (2019-2021) and Chris Tse (2022-2024). [209] [210] [211] [212]
Poets Laureate of Nigeria include Obo Aba Hisanjani.[ citation needed ]
Beginning around 1994, North Korea had 6 active poets laureate who worked in the epic genre. [213] Epic poetry was the chief vehicle of political propaganda during the rule of Kim Jong-il, and the poets worked according to the requests and needs of Kim Jong-il. [213] Some of the poets are Jang Jin-sung (pseudonym), Kim Man-young and Shin Byung-gang. [213]
Poets Laureate of Norway include Arnold Eidslott (1986–2018). [214]
In Oman, Al-Sitali served as the poet laureate during the Nabhani dynasty. [215]
During the 18th century, Jam Durrak was appointed as the poet laureate of the royal court of Mir Nasir Khan I. [216] Later in Pakistan's history, Poets Laureate of Pakistan would include Hafeez Jalandhari. [217]
Poets Laureate of Panama include Enrique Geenzier. [218]
Allan Natachee was proclaimed the Poet Laureate of Papua New Guinea by the United Poets Laureate International. [219] [220]
Poets Laureate of Peru include Pedro Peralta y Barnuevo and José Santos Chocano (1922). [221] [222] [223]
Poet Laureate of the Philippines include Amado Yuzon (1959). [224]
Poets Laureate of Poland were appointed so by Popes: Klemens Janicki (Pope Paul III; 1540), Adam Schröter (Pope Pius IV; 1564), and Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski (Pope Urban VIII, 1622). [225]
Poets Laureate of Portugal include Gil Vicente. [226] [227]
Poets Laureate of Romania include Vasile Alecsandri (1848–1881) and Octavian Goga. [228] [229] [230] [231]
Poets Laureate of Russia include Gavrila Derzhavin and Mikhail Sholokhov . [232] [233] [234] In 1923, Mӓjit Nurghӓniulї Ghafuri was appointed the Poet Laureate of Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. [235]
Poets Laureate of Rwanda include Edouard Bamporiki Uwayo. [236]
Poets Laureate of Saudi Arabia include Ahmed Ibrahim al-Ghazzawi. [237]
Poets Laureate of Saint Lucia include Derek Walcott. [238] [239]
Poets Laureate of San Marino include Valery Larbaud. [240] [241]
Poets Laureate of Senegal include Léopold Sédar Senghor and Robert Hayden (1966). [242] [243]
Poets Laureate of Serbia include the following:
Poets Laureate of Sierra Leone include the Italian authors Roberto Malini and Dario Picciau. [248]
Poets Laureate of Slovakia include Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav. [249] [250]
Poets Laureate of Slovenia include France Prešeren. [251]
Poets Laureate of South Africa include Mazisi Kunene (2005), Keorapetse Kgositsile (2006), and Mongane Wally Serote (2018– ). [252] [253] [254]
Poet Laureates of Spain include Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch (1869) and José Zorrilla y Moral (1889). [255] [256]
Poets Laureate of Sri Lanka include Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thera, who lived during the 15th century. [257]
During the 10th century, Al-Mutannabi was the poet laureate at the court of the Hamdanid emir Sayf al-Dawla in Aleppo. [258]
In 1963, Jun-an (Wei Qing-de) was named the Poet Laureate of Taiwan by the United Poets Laureate International. [259]
In ancient times, Tajikistan-born Rudaki became the poet laureate in the royal court of Ahmad Samani. [260]
Poets Laureate of Tanzania include Saadani Kandoro (1969). [261] [262]
Poets Laureate of Thailand include Sunthorn Phu. [263] [264]
Poets Laureate of Tonga include Noble Tu'ivakanō (Siaosi Kiu Ngalumoetutulu Kiutauʻivailahi Kao). [265]
Paul-Keens Douglas became the inaugural Poet Laureate of Trinidad and Tobago in 2017. [266] [267] In 2002, Eintou Pearl Springer was named the Poet Laureate of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. [268]
Mehmet Akif Ersoy (b. 1873–d. December 27, 1936), a famous poet, was the Poet-Laureate of Turkey. He composed the poem to be the National Anthem of the Turkish Republic that written in 1921. Original name of the poem is "İstiklal Marşı"
In the 1940s, Oleksandr Korniychuk was the Poet Laureate of Soviet-controlled Ukraine. [270]
Poets Laureate of the United Arab Emirates include Ousha bint Khalifa Al Suwaidi. [271]
In England, the term "poet laureate" is restricted to the official office of Poet Laureate, attached to the royal household. However, no authoritative historical record exists of the office of Poet Laureate of England.
The office developed from earlier practice when minstrels and versifiers were members of the king's retinue. Richard Cœur-de-Lion had a versificator regis (English: king's poet), Gulielmus Peregrinus (William the Pilgrim), and Henry III had a versificator named Master Henry. In the fifteenth century, John Kay, a versifier, described himself as Edward IV's "humble poet laureate".
According to Wharton,[ citation needed ] King Henry I paid 10 shillings a year to a versificator regis. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340–1400) was called Poet Laureate, being granted in 1389 an annual allowance of wine. W. Hamilton describes Chaucer, Gower, Kay, Andrew Bernard, John Skelton, Robert Whittington, Richard Edwards and Samuel Daniel as "volunteer Laureates".
John Skelton studied at the University of Oxford in the early 1480s and was advanced to the degree of "poet laureate" in 1488, when he joined the court of King Henry VII to tutor the future Henry VIII. The title of laureate was also conferred on him by the University of Louvain in 1492 and by the University of Cambridge in 1492–3.[ citation needed ] He soon became famous for his rhetoric, satire and translations and was held in high esteem by the printer William Caxton, who wrote, in the preface to The Boke of Eneydos compyled by Vargyle (Modern English: The Book of the Aeneid, compiled by Virgil ) (1490):
But I pray mayster John Skelton, late created poete laureate in the unyversite of Oxenforde, to oversee and correct this sayd booke.
The academic use of the term laureate became associated again with royalty when King James I created a pension for Ben Jonson in 1617, although there is no formal record extant. He was succeeded by William Davenant.
The royal office Poet Laureate was officially conferred by letters patent on John Dryden in 1668, after Davenant's death, and the post became a regular institution. Dryden's successor Shadwell originated annual birthday and New Year odes. The poet laureate became responsible for writing and presenting official verses to commemorate both personal occasions, such as the monarch's birthday or royal births and marriages, and public occasions, such as coronations and military victories. His activity in this respect varied according to circumstances, and the custom ceased to be obligatory after Pye's death. The office fell into some contempt before Robert Southey, but took on a new lustre from his personal distinction and that of successors Wordsworth and Tennyson. Wordsworth stipulated before accepting the honour that no formal effusions from him should be required. Due to his age, he became the only laureate to write no official poetry. Tennyson was generally happy in his numerous poems of this class.
On Tennyson's death there was a considerable feeling that there was no acceptable successor. William Morris and Swinburne were hardly suitable as court poets. Eventually the undesirability of breaking the tradition for temporary reasons, and severing the one official link between literature and the state, prevailed over the protests against allowing someone of inferior genius to follow Tennyson. Abolition was similarly advocated when Warton and Wordsworth died.
Edward Gibbon condemned the position's artificial approach to poetry:
From Augustus to Louis, the muse has too often been false and venal: but I much doubt whether any age or court can produce a similar establishment of a stipendiary poet, who in every reign, and at all events, is bound to furnish twice a year a measure of praise and verse, such as may be sung in the chapel, and, I believe, in the presence, of the sovereign. I speak the more freely, as the best time for abolishing this ridiculous custom is while the prince is a man of virtue and the poet a man of genius.
— Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: Chapter LXX (footnote)
The salary has varied, but traditionally includes some alcohol. Ben Jonson first received a pension of 100 marks, and later an annual "terse of Canary wine". Dryden had a pension of £300 and a butt of Canary wine. Pye received £27 instead of the wine. Tennyson drew £72 a year from the Lord Chamberlain's department, and £27 from the Lord Steward's "in lieu of the butt of sack". The modern annual salary is £5,750. [272] On 10 May 2019 Simon Armitage was appointed [273] after the end of Carol Ann Duffy's ten-year tenure. [272]
There are other, non-official, laureate titles, such as the commercially sponsored "Children's Laureate" for an "eminent writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field", [274] and the Poetry Foundation's Young People's Poet Laureate. [5]
Scotland has a long tradition of makars and poetry. Iain Lom, the Scottish Gaelic bard, was appointed poet laureate in Scotland by Charles II, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, on his restoration in 1660. [275] In 2004 the Scottish Parliament appointed Professor Edwin Morgan as the first Makar or National Poet for Scotland. On his death in January 2011 he was succeeded by Liz Lochhead. [276] Kathleen Jamie became Scotland's fourth Makar in 2021. [277]
Wales has had a long tradition of poets and bards under royal patronage, with extant writing from medieval royal poets and earlier. The office of National Poet for Wales was established in April 2005. The first holder, Gwyneth Lewis, was followed by Gwyn Thomas.
Dr. Richard Georges became the inaugural Poet Laureate of the British Virgin Islands in 2020. [278]
Poets Laureate of the Cayman Islands include Roy Bodden. [279]
Poets Laureate of the Falkland Islands include Ron Reeves. [280]
Referred to as the Manx Bard, the individuals that have served in the position include Zoe Cannell, Michael Manning, and Jordanne Kennaugh. [281] [282] [283]
The United States Library of Congress appointed a Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1937 to 1984. An Act of Congress changed the name in 1985 to Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress .
Poets laureate receive a US$35,000 stipend and are given the responsibility of overseeing an ongoing series of poetry readings and lectures at the library, and a charge to promote poetry. No other duties are specified, and laureates are not required to compose for government events or in praise of government officials. However, after the September 11 terrorist attacks, then poet laureate Billy Collins was asked to write a poem to be read in front of a special joint session of Congress. Collins wrote "The Names", which he read on September 6, 2002, and which is available in streaming audio and video. [284] The original intent of the stipend was to provide poets laureate with a full income, so that they could devote their time entirely to writing poetry. The amount has not been adjusted for inflation and is now considered a moderate bonus intended to supplement a poet's already existing income. Most Poets Laureate earn the bulk of their income through university employment.[ citation needed ]
Ada Limón is the current poet laureate. Previous poets laureate include Joy Harjo, Tracy K. Smith (two terms), Juan Felipe Herrera, Philip Levine, W. S. Merwin, Kay Ryan, Charles Simic, Ted Kooser, Louise Glück, Billy Collins, Rita Dove, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Frost, Karl Shapiro, Allen Tate, Robert Penn Warren, Richard Wilbur, Joseph Brodsky, Stanley Kunitz, Robert Hass, Donald Hall, Robert Pinsky (three terms), Mark Strand, Audre Lorde, and Maxine Kumin.
Amanda Gorman was the United States's first National Youth Poet Laureate appointed in 2017. [285]
A number of American state legislatures have also created an office of poet laureate. The holders may be locally or nationally prominent. The U.S. states of New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Pennsylvania do not currently have a state poet laureate position. [286]
The United States' capital, the District of Columbia, created the position of Poet Laureate of the District of Columbia in 1984 during the mayoralty of Marion Barry. [287] The position is filled by appointment from the mayor of the district the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. [287] The District of Columbia's poet laureate program is currently stalled. [288] [289] Only two poets laureate have been appointed since the creation of the position. Sterling Allen Brown was appointed by Mayor Marion Barry, serving from 1984 until his death in 1989. [287] [290] Dolores Kendrick was appointed by Mayor Anthony A. Williams, serving from 1999 until her death in 2017. [291]
The office of Poet Laureate of Alabama was created for Samuel Minturn Peck in 1930. The post has been continuously filled since 1954 on a four-year renewable basis. Poets laureate serve at the pleasure of the governor. Successors include Helen Norris, Sue Walker, [292] and Andrew Glaze. [293]
Originally created as the position of Poet Laureate in 1963 (House Resolution 25). [294] The official name was changed in 1996 to recognize and honor all genres of writing. [294] The position is selected by the Alaska State Council on the Arts. [295]
The state of Arizona established a state Poet Laureate position in 2013, appointing Alberto Ríos as the inaugural Poet Laureate. [296] [297] [298] [299]
Charles T. Davis was the first poet laureate of Arkansas, appointed in 1923. [300]
The state of California established a state Poet Laureate under Governor Hiram Warren Johnson [301] and appointed Ina Donna Coolbrith on June 30, 1915. Coolbrith was later acknowledged as the "Loved Laurel-Crowned Poet of California" by a 1919 state Senate resolution, retaining the title until her death in 1928. [302] Juan Felipe Herrera was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown in March 2012. [303] The position is currently vacant. It was last held by Dana Gioia from 2015 to 2018. [304] [305]
Colorado Poets Laureate are currently appointed to four-year terms. They are nominated by Colorado Creative Industries and Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book, and chosen by the Governor. [334] Alice Polk Hill was the first poet laureate of Colorado serving from 1919 to 1921. [335] [336] Successors include Thomas Hornsby Ferril, Mary Crow, David Mason, Bobby LeFebre and Andrea Gibson. [336] The State of Colorado also appointed singer/songwriter writer John Denver in 1974. [337]
The Poet Laureate of Connecticut was established in 1985 by Public Act 85-221 of the Connecticut General Assembly. [340] Five-year residents of the state with a demonstrated career in poetry are eligible for the honorary appointment as an advocate for poetry and literary arts. [341] James Merill was the first poet laureate of Connecticut, serving from 1985 to 1995. [341] [340] His successors include Leo Connellan, Marilyn Nelson, John Hollander, Dick Allen, Margaret Gibson. [341] [340] Antoinette Brim-Bell is the current poet laureate for Connecticut. [341]
Poets are appointed to the position by the governor. The first poet laureate of Delaware was Edna Deemer Leach appointed in 1947. [342] Nnamdi Chukwuocha and Albert Mills—twin brothers who are known as the "Twin Poets"—were appointed 17th Poets Laureate of the State of Delaware on December 13, 2015. [343] According to the Library of Congress, [344] they are the first co-laureates appointed by a state and the first siblings to share the position. [345] [346] Predecessors include Fleda Brown and JoAnn Balingit. [344]
Poets Laureate of Florida are appointed by the governor and the Division of Arts and Culture. [347] They first served lifetime, unpaid appointments, until June 20, 2014, when HB 513 established a four-year term. The first poet laureate of Florida was Franklin L. Wood, [348] appointed in 1929 and died soon after assuming office. [349] Vivian Laramore Rader was appointed in 1931 and served until her death in 1975. Edmund Skellings was appointed in 1980. A stroke that impaired his speech and limited his ability to do all of his official duties. He died August 19, 2012, leaving the post vacant. [348] Peter Meinke currently holds this position and was appointed on June 15, 2015. [349]
Frank Lebby Stanton served from 1925 to 1927 as Georgia's first poet laureate. [350] Successors include Ernest Neal, Conrad Aiken, David Bottoms, Judson Mitcham, and Chelsea Rathburn. [350]
Prior to statehood Don Blanding, originally from Oklahoma, was unofficially referred to as the poet laureate of Hawaii. [351] In 1951 Hawaii Territorial Senator Thelma Akana Harrison in concurrent resolution 28, declared Lloyd Stone, who was originally from California, poet laureate. [352] When the modern program was established, Native Hawaiian Kealoha was appointed on May 3, 2012, by Governor Neil Abercrombie., [353] and he is the first poet laureate for the state of Hawaii, serving through 2022. [354] [355] [356] [357]
Irene Welch Grissom served from 1923 to 1948 as Idaho's first poet laureate. [358] Sudie Stuart Hager served as the second poet laureate from 1949 to 1982. [358] After 1982 the title was changed to Writer in Residence. [358]
Illinois appointed its first poet laureate, Howard Austin, in 1936, followed by Carl Sandburg (1962–1967), and Gwendolyn Brooks (1968–2000), all with lifetime appointments. The post is now a four-year renewable award. [359] The poet laureate from 2003 to 2017 was Kevin Stein. [360] In 2020, Angela Jackson was named Illinois Poet Laureate. [361] [362] [363] [364] Singer songwriter John Prine was posthumously named an Honorary Poet Laureate. [365] [366]
Joyce Brinkman was appointed as the first poet laureate of Indiana, serving from 2005 to 2008 [367]
The position was created July 1, 1999, by Subchapter 303.89 of the Iowa Code with a two-year renewable term. [368] Marvin Bell was Iowa's first Poet Laureate, [368] from 2000 to 2004, followed by Robert Dana from 2004 to 2008, and Mary Swander from 2009 to 2019. Debra Marquart is the current Poet Laureate of Iowa. [369] Her two-year term started in May 2019. [368]
Jonathan Holden served as Kansas' first poet laureate from 2005 to 2007. [370]
James Thomas Cotton Noe served as Kentucky's first poet laureate from 1926 to 1953. [371]
Emma Wilson Emery served as Louisiana's first poet laureate from 1942 to 1970. [372] The current poet laureate of Louisiana is Mona Lisa Saloy appointed in April 2021. Predecessors include Ava Leavell Haymon, Julie Kane, Peter Cooley, and John Warner Smith.
Kate Barnes served as Maine's first poet laureate from 1996 to 1999. The current poet laureate of Maine is Julia Bouwsna. [373] Predecessors include Wesley McNair, Baron Wormser, and Betsy Sholl. [374]
The current Poet Laureate of Maryland is Grace Cavalieri. [375]
The state of Massachusetts does not currently have a poet laureate position. [377] [378] However, many cities in Massachusetts have appointed poets laureate.
Edgar A. Guest served as Michigan Poet Laureate from 1952 through 1959 having been appointed Poet Laureate through Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 38 (1952) of the Michigan Legislature. [389] State lawmakers made three separate unsuccessful attempts to reinstate a poet laureate position in 2000, 2005, and 2019. [389] In 2023, Nandi Comer was appointed poet laureate. [390]
In May 2007, Gov. Pawlenty reversed his opposition and signed Section 4, Chapter 148 of the Minnesota Session Laws 2007, establishing the state poet laureate. Robert Bly was appointed the first Minnesota poet laureate on February 27, 2008, succeeded on August 23, 2011, by Joyce Sutphen. Dr. Gwen Westerman was appointed as the third Minnesota poet laureate on September 9, 2021, by Governor Tim Walz. [391]
In 1963, Governor Ross Barnett appointed Mississippi's first Poet Laureate, Maude Willard Leet Prenshaw. In 1973, Louise Moss Montgomery was named laureate by Gov. William Waller. Gov. Cliff Finch appointed Winifred Hamrick Farrar laureate in 1978. All three poets laureate served lifetime terms. Beginning in 2012, Mississippi poets laureate now serve four-year terms. Natasha Tretheway served as the Poet Laureate of Mississippi from 2012 to 2016. On August 10, 2016, Beth Ann Fennelly assumed the position. [392]
Walter Bargen served as Missouri's first poet laureate from 2008 to 2010. [393]
Sandra Alcosser was Montana's first poet laureate, serving in the position from 2005 to 2007. [394]
John G. Neihardt was appointed as Nebraskas first poet laureate in 1921, and served until November 3, 1973. [395]
Mildred Breedlove served as the first poet laureate of Nevada from 1957 to 2007. [396]
Paul Scott Mowrer was appointed as New Hampshire's first poet laureate, and served from 1968 to 1971. [397] The current poet laureate of New Hampshire is Alexandria Peary, appointed October 2019. [398] Predecessors include W. E. Butts, Richard Eberhart, Patricia Fargnoli, Cynthia Huntington, and Jane Kenyon.
New Jersey had a poet laureate program until from 2000 to 2003, appointing poet Gerald Stern followed by Amiri Baraka. The position was eliminated in 2003. [399]
In 2020 New Mexico appointed its first poet laureate, Levi Romero. [400]
The position of New York State Poet Laureate (official title: State Poet) was established by a special mandate of the New York State Legislature on August 1, 1985. [401] Willie Perdomo is the current New York state poet laureate. [401] Predecessors include John Ashbery, Billy Collins, Jane Cooper, Robert Creeley, Richard Howard, Marie Howe, Stanley Kunitz, Audre Lorde, Sharon Olds, Alicia Ostriker, and Jean Valentine. [401] In 1988 New York also established position for other genres of writing entitled New York State Author. [402] In 2016, Governor Andrew Cuomo also named Joseph Tusiani Poet Laureate Emeritus. [403] In 2004, Ishle Yi Park became first female and the first Korean American poet laureate of the New York City borough of Queens. [404]
The 1935 General Assembly created the office of state poet laureate and empowers the Governor to appoint a North Carolina Poet Laureate. [405] Jaki Shelton Green has been North Carolina's Poet Laureate since 2018. [406]
Corbin A. Waldron was the first poet laureate of North Dakota from 1957 to 1978. [408]
The state of Ohio created the position of Poet Laureate in 2014. Dr. Amit Majmudar of Dublin, Ohio, was named the first state Poet Laureate by Gov. John Kasich, for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2016. Kari Gunter-Seymour is the current Poet Laureate of Ohio. Her term began on June 10, 2020. [409]
The state of Oklahoma named Violet McDougal its first poet laureate in 1923. [410] [411] [412] Joe Kreger who first served from 1998 to 2001 was appointed a second term as Oklahoma's poet laureate from 2021 to 2022. [413] The current poet laureate of Oklahoma is Jay Snider. [414]
The position of Oregon Poet Laureate was established in 1923, appointing Edwin Markham as the first poet laureate. [416] Anis Mojgani was appointed to the position in 2020. [417]
Samuel John Hazo served as Pennsylvania's first and only poet laureate from 1993 to 2003 before Governor Bob Casey eliminated the position. [418] Florence Van Leer Earle Coates was elected poet laureate of Pennsylvania by the state Federation of Women's Clubs in 1915. [419]
The State Poet of Rhode Island, established in 1987, is codified in Chapter 42-100 of the State of Rhode Island General Laws. [423] The five-year appointment by the Governor carries an annual salary of $1,000. [424] Michael Steven Harper served as Rhode Island's first poet laureate from 1988 to 1993. [425]
Archibald Rutledge was the first poet laureate of South Carolina, serving from 1934 to 1973. [426]
Charles "Badger" Clark was the first poet laureate of South Dakota appointed in 1937. [427]
The current poet laureate is Bruce Roseland. "It’s an honor to stand among those who have come before me,” Roseland said. “There are many people in South Dakota who write as well as I do and most of them write better. To represent South Dakota in this form of writing poetry … I’m very happy about it. I hope to be an ambassador." [428]
"Pek" Gunn, a native of Bold Spring, Tennessee, and a close friend and politically ally of former Governor of Tennessee Frank Clement, was the first Tennessean given the title of State Poet Laureate, in the 1970s. Margaret Britton Vaughn is the current Poet Laureate, she is serving her lifetime appointment since 1999. [429]
The state of Texas established a Poet Laureate in 1932 (historical list of Texas poets laureate). The term as of 2016 is one year. [430]
The state of Utah has appointed a Poet Laureate since 1997. [433] The first was David Lee (January 24, 1997, to December 2002), followed by Ken Brewer (January 24, 2003, to March 15, 2006), Katharine Coles (October 27, 2006, to May 2012), Lance Larsen, appointed May 3, 2012, by Governor Gary Herbert, and Paisley Rekdal, appointed by Governor Gary Herbert in May 2017. [434] The current Poet Laureate in Utah is Lisa Bickmore appointed in April 2022. [435]
Robert Frost was the first poet laureate of Vermont, serving from 1961 to 1963. [436]
The Commonwealth of Virginia has appointed a Poet Laureate since December 18, 1936. The first was Carter Warner Wormeley, appointed for life. Appointments from 1942 until 1992 were for one year, with many reappointed for multiple terms. In 1992, the term was increased to two years. Since 1998 appointments are made from list of nominees presented by the Poetry Society of Virginia, established at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1923. [437] The current Poet Laureate is Luisa A. Igloria. [437]
The State of Washington has officially appointed a Poet Laureate since 2007, [438] though Poets Laureate have been unofficially appointed by the Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs since 1931, when Ella Rhoads Higginson was named as the State's first Poet Laureate. [439]
Samuel Green was named as Washington's first official Poet Laureate in 2007, and served until 2009. [440] Poets Laureate of Washington are appointed for a two-year term by the Governor of Washington. [441]
Since 2023, the Poet Laureate of Washington has been Arianne True, a Choctaw and Chickasaw writer and artist from Tacoma. [442] She is the second Indigenous person to hold the post, following her predecessor Rena Priest of the Lummi Nation. [443]
Karl Myers served as the first poet laureate of West Virginia from 1927 to 1937. [444]
The current Poet Laureate of Wisconsin is Dasha Kelly Hamilton, 2021–2022. [445]
Eugene Gagliano has been the Poet Laureate of Wyoming since July 2016. [446]
In 1929, the Palacio Legislativo of Montevideo consecrated Juana de Ibarbourou as the "Poet Laureate of Spanish America". [447]
In the 14th-15th centuries, Uzbekistan-born Khoja Fakhriddin Ismatullah ibn Masud Ismat Bukhari was the poet laureate in the royal courts of Jalal-ud-Din Khalji and Ulugh Beg. [448] In later history, Poets Laureate of Uzbekistan include Muhammed Ali and Śukrullo. [449] [450]
Poets Laureate of Venezuela include Heraclio Martín de la Guardia (c. 1878). [451]
Tố Hữu was the poet laureate of North Vietnam and the Communist Party of Vietnam, and remained so even after his political decline. [452]
During the 15th century, Abu Bakr al-Aydarus became the patron saint and Poet Laureate of Aden, Yemen. [453]
Richard Purdy Wilbur was an American poet and literary translator. One of the foremost poets of his generation, Wilbur's work, often employing rhyme, and composed primarily in traditional forms, was marked by its wit, charm, and gentlemanly elegance. He was appointed the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1987 and received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry twice, in 1957 and 1989.
Simon Robert Armitage is an English poet, playwright, musician and novelist. He was appointed Poet Laureate on 10 May 2019. He is professor of poetry at the University of Leeds.
Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was an American poet, author, and teacher. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry on May 1, 1950, for Annie Allen, making her the first African American to receive a Pulitzer Prize.
Naomi Shihab Nye is an Arab American poet, editor, songwriter, and novelist. Born to a Palestinian father and an American mother, she began composing her first poetry at the age of six. In total, she has published or contributed to over 30 volumes of poetry. Her works include poetry, young-adult fiction, picture books, and novels. Nye received the 2013 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature in honor of her entire body of work as a writer, and in 2019 the Poetry Foundation designated her the Young People's Poet Laureate for the 2019–21 term.
Louise Elisabeth Glück was an American poet and essayist. She won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature, whose judges praised "her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal". Her other awards include the Pulitzer Prize, National Humanities Medal, National Book Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, and Bollingen Prize. From 2003 to 2004, she was Poet Laureate of the United States.
Rita Frances Dove is an American poet and essayist. From 1993 to 1995, she served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She is the first African American to have been appointed since the position was created by an act of Congress in 1986 from the previous "consultant in poetry" position (1937–86). Dove also received an appointment as "special consultant in poetry" for the Library of Congress's bicentennial year from 1999 to 2000. Dove is the second African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, in 1987, and she served as the Poet Laureate of Virginia from 2004 to 2006. Since 1989, she has been teaching at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where she held the chair of Commonwealth Professor of English from 1993 to 2020; as of 2020, she holds the chair of Henry Hoyns Professor of Creative Writing.
Dušan Simić, known as Charles Simic, was a Serbian American poet and co-poetry editor of the Paris Review. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1990 for The World Doesn't End and was a finalist of the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for Selected Poems, 1963–1983 and in 1987 for Unending Blues. He was appointed the fifteenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 2007.
Philip Levine was an American poet best known for his poems about working-class Detroit. He taught for more than thirty years in the English department of California State University, Fresno and held teaching positions at other universities as well. He served on the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets from 2000 to 2006, and was appointed Poet Laureate of the United States for 2011–2012.
Lorna Gaye Goodison CD is a Jamaican poet, essayist and memoirist, a leading West Indian writer, whose career spans four decades. She is now Professor Emerita, English Language and Literature/Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan, previously serving as the Lemuel A. Johnson Professor of English and African and Afroamerican Studies. She was appointed Poet Laureate of Jamaica in 2017, serving in the role until 2020.
Tracy K. Smith is an American poet and educator. She served as the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2017 to 2019. She has published five collections of poetry, winning the Pulitzer Prize for her 2011 volume Life on Mars. Her memoir, Ordinary Light, was published in 2015.
Joy Harjo is an American poet, musician, playwright, and author. She served as the 23rd United States Poet Laureate, the first Native American to hold that honor. She was also only the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to have served three terms. Harjo is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation and belongs to Oce Vpofv. She is an important figure in the second wave of the literary Native American Renaissance of the late 20th century. She studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts, completed her undergraduate degree at University of New Mexico in 1976, and earned an MFA degree at the University of Iowa in its creative writing program.
Juan Felipe Herrera is an American poet, performer, writer, cartoonist, teacher, and activist. Herrera was the 21st United States Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017. He is a major figure in the literary field of Chicano poetry.
Natasha Trethewey is an American poet who served as United States Poet Laureate from 2012 to 2014. She won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for her 2006 collection Native Guard, and is a former Poet Laureate of Mississippi.
Ada Limón is an American poet. On July 12, 2022, she was named the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States by the Librarian of Congress. This made her the first Latina to be Poet Laureate of the United States. She is married to Lucas Marquardt.
The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate, serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry. The position was modeled on the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom. Begun in 1937, and formerly known as the Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, the present title was devised and authorized by an Act of Congress in 1985. Appointed by the Librarian of Congress, the poet laureate's office is administered by the Center for the Book. For children's poets, the Poetry Foundation awards the Young People's Poet Laureate.
Poet Laureate of Kentucky is a title awarded to a Kentucky poet by the state's Art Council. In 2013, the position was occupied by Frank X Walker, the first African-American to be so honored.
Amanda S. C. Gorman is an American poet, activist, and model. Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. Gorman was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate. She published the poetry book The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough in 2015. She rose to fame in 2021 for writing and delivering her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of Joe Biden. Gorman's inauguration poem generated international acclaim and shortly thereafter, two of her books achieved best-seller status, and she obtained a professional management contract.
The Poet Laureate of Vermont is the poet laureate for the U.S. state of Vermont. Robert Frost was the first poet named as Laureate by Joint House Resolution 54 of the Vermont General Assembly in 1961, less than two years before his death. The current position of State Poet, a four-year appointment, was created by Executive Order 69 in 1988. In 2007, the designation was changed to Poet Laureate.
The Poet Laureate of South Dakota is the poet laureate for the U.S. state of South Dakota. The first poet laureate was appointed in 1937, and a permanent office of poet laureate of South Dakota was created by legislation in 1959. The Governor has the authority to appoint a candidate who has received a recommendation from the South Dakota State Poetry Society. The appointment was indefinite, "during the pleasure of the Governor", until 2015, when the term was set at four years. Past appointees have lifetime emeritus status.
We chose Miriam Levine to be the first Poet Laureate of Arlington.